Page 21 of The Peculiar Incident at Thistlewick House

Edward let Noah scamper away, wondering if the spirit possessing the youngest Garrod brother was responsible for the hair tonic. He certainly had every reason to want the truth of Silas’s death kept quiet and must be bewildered that Edward hadn’t publicly pointed the finger at him.

Banjo, now that he had no one to growl at, brought a small stick over and dropped it optimistically at his feet. Edward threw it half-heartedly a couple of times before walking down the rift and onto the beach to clear his head.

The tide was out and he felt a mere dot on the wide expanse of flat sand.

The sky was so big in this part of the world, he mused, and the view a far simpler affair.

Three distinct strips of colour faced him: the brown of the shore stretching from his feet; the thin grey line of ocean; and the pale blue sky dotted with ragged white clouds.

He’d always loved spending time in opulent surroundings – the rich reds, greens and golds of the theatres, wandering around galleries and museums full of valuable and intricate items, or visiting the homes of wealthy clients, where the rooms dripped with ornaments and artwork.

So why did being here take his breath away when there was little colour in the landscape and not much to see?

He headed west and, as he approached the area where the bones were falling, he noticed another slump of land.

It wasn’t as dramatic as the collapse when the storm hit, but the sienna-coloured soil had added a fresh coating to the landslip of before.

There were a couple of smaller bones exposed, from hands or feet, he supposed, but what caught his eye was the glint of something metal poking from the earth.

He bent down and pulled out a small silver coin, before donning his spectacles to see the profile of a young Queen Victoria looking to the left – the date of 1843 beneath her head.

Edward surveyed the cliffs. If the coin had fallen with the bones, then the bodies had been put in the ground sometime after 1843, but not before.

His first thought was this date was in living memory for the older residents of Thistlewick, and yet, despite the enquiries Carl had undertaken, no one admitted to knowing anything about the grave.

The current Lord Felthorpe, old Dr Appleby, Mrs Drayton – in fact, anyone over sixty would have been a small child or older, and the coin only suggested the earliest possible date of burial – it could have been more recent.

His knowledge of decomposition was limited, but he estimated that with bodies buried in damp, sandy soil, and not in coffins, it would take a minimum of twenty years for the organic material to disappear and leave only skeletons.

These people had been put in the earth somewhere between the eighteen forties and the eighteen seventies.

Surely such a dramatic event could not have gone unnoticed by everyone in the village?

Edward pocketed the coin before returning his busy mind to the encounter with Noah.

He should have been more direct with his questions.

Not many minutes had gone by since the man had run from him.

Could he track him down? If he’d made for the woods, he’d come out near Maude’s cottage.

Edward felt a rising panic. He was a desperate man who had very likely committed a murder and Mrs Grimmer was a woman alone.

Was she to be the next victim of this vengeful spirit?

Might Noah accidentally stumble across her cottage and try to rob her?

Or had he bolted in that direction deliberately because he had a score to settle with her?

Either way, Edward felt it his duty to check she was unharmed.

As he clambered up the smaller, more westerly, gap in the cliffs, he could see two figures in the distance.

As he got closer, he recognised Maude from her long, woollen cloak.

She was talking to someone – which was odd because she didn’t like people and they didn’t like her.

Out of breath from the climb, he started to increase his pace when he realised that the other person was Noah, and she was leading him inside.

Fearing for her safety, he quickly arrived at her cottage and started banging loudly on the door.

‘Open up. Maude, I know you’re in there.’ He used the end of his cane as the ivory skull was louder than his gloved fist. ‘I’m not leaving until you answer. I can be out here all day if necessary.’ His voice was hoarse from the running and his heart rate racing.

After a few moments the door was pulled slowly inwards.

‘What do you want?’ Maude’s face peered through the slender crack.

‘I know that you have Noah Garrod in there with you. I saw him enter as I came up from the beach.’

She said nothing, but her eyes narrowed. Edward leaned in closer and lowered his voice, not sure whether Noah was near enough to hear their conversation.

‘You must realise it’s likely that he pushed his brother from the cliff? Whatever the provocation for doing so, when I asked him about it just now, he ran, which only serves to confirm his guilt. What if he turns his violence on you?’

Edward wasn’t prepared to tell this belligerent woman of his suspicions that Noah was someone else – a resurrected spirit who’d killed Silas without any obvious motive. She wouldn’t understand and it might frighten her more.

‘I’ve known Noah all my life. He hasn’t got an angry bone in his body and adored his brother.

You’re a stranger to these parts and don’t know their history.

He’s not as… sharp as most people. I can’t have him taken off and questioned for something he didn’t do, Mr Blackmore.

He’s vulnerable and might be made to say things he doesn’t understand. ’

‘Let me take him to the local constable and explain himself. I’ll make sure he isn’t taken advantage of, but you and I both heard the shouts before Silas fell from the cliffs. We know he wasn’t alone up there.’

‘I heard nothing,’ she said and tried to close the door but Edward had wedged his foot in the gap as soon as she’d opened it. ‘Besides, he isn’t here. Whatever you thought you saw, you’re wrong.’

They stared at each other for quite some time, until Edward realised this was a stubborn woman who would probably stand on the other side of the door until nightfall, if necessary.

He’d warned her of the danger and that was all he could do.

It was entirely possible that she’d agree to anything for payment, even harbour a murderer.

Besides, if Noah had wanted to kill her, would he not have done so by now?

It even occurred to him that she might be in league with the man and he had this all wrong.

Perhaps she was responsible for the pit of dead people?

She was hardly blessed with a wholesome reputation and could have done away with them all twenty years ago. Maybe it was Noah who was in danger.

Not for the first time, Edward questioned why he was getting sucked into the lives of those at Thistlewick Tye. It was this meddling that had doubtless seen the attempt on his life. He must step away.

‘Fine.’ He removed his foot. ‘Perhaps I shall take my suspicions to Lord Felthorpe and have the constable—’

But Maude had already slammed the door and disappeared.